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News/Event Item
Condoms `Promote Sin' in Papua New Guinea as AIDS, Faith Cross
August 3, 2008
By Simeon Bennett
Godfrey Wippon, the pastor of Papua New Guinea's 70,000-member Revival Fellowship Church, has a simple HIV-prevention message for his flock.
"Flee from sin, flee from committing adultery and fornication,'' Wippon, 56, said in a telephone interview from Goroka, in the country's Eastern Highlands. "If you are a church and you're issuing condoms, you are promoting sin and you're anti-Christ.'' Those infected should turn to God, who has healed 40 church members of HIV, Wippon said.
Religion has helped and hindered global health officials battling HIV. While faith-based groups care for AIDS patients, efforts to slow infection have been stymied by religious beliefs and practices. These include Islamic prohibitions against gay sex, which shames gays in Malaysia from responding to prevention efforts, and opposition to circumcision by Hindus and Sikhs in India, global health officials said.
© Bloomberg L.P.
For full article, visit
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=acEj93SR3hsw&refer=home
category: News from Other Sources : AIDS News
contributed by Christopher Gibbs on 4 August 2008
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